10 Holiday Things To Do in New Orleans

Here are a few ideas if you're looking for ways to get in the holiday mood.

Morgan Packard

The holidays of my first years in New Orleans, spent attending Newcomb, were focused on travel plans for getting home to Dallas.

For the past seven years though, my husband and I have spent Christmas Eve both at his parents’ Christmas Eve party and throwing a Reveillon for our friends and family, followed by the traditional trip to Dallas.

In a previous column I spoke about tradition and beginning new ones; we’re doing that ourselves this year with a trip out of town coming up soon.

Thanks to that, I’m having trouble getting into the holiday mood. I don’t have time for my annual Christmas Tea at the Windsor Court with my best friend. We don’t have time to visit Celebration in the Oaks. And even though it feels more like a winter wonderland in New Orleans this year than usual, I’m not seeing as many lights decorating houses.

Maybe this is due to the late Thanksgiving, which coincided with Hanukkah, or that our winter has been so sporadic, but to me it feels like I’m missing out. We even bought a smaller tree this year, since we’ll only be seeing it for four days or so.

Because of that, I’m gathering a list of holiday-oriented events happening around town so I can begin to schedule my 2014 holiday in advance – and imbibe as much holiday cheer as I can handle.

Here is a list of 10 things to do (and this is just an early 10; I know I’m missing a bunch):

about

Morgan Packard may not be a native New Orleanian, but with every passing day New Orleans becomes more her home. Attending Newcomb College and gaining her masters from Tulane University, Packard immersed herself in the culture and peculiarities of the Big Easy, the culmination of which was reached when she joined the staff of Renaissance Publishing in May 2006. You can reach Morgan at (504) 830-7227 or morgan@myneworleans.com.